Willpower

ARTICLES ABOUT WILLPOWER BY DATE - PAGE 3

By Written by Teresa Wiltz; edited by Monica Eng; designed by Julie Frady | January 3, 1997

The body beautiful: Wanna shed those holiday pounds? This site has a calorie counter, recipes for low-fat meals and tips for beefing up your willpower. (http://homearts.com/depts/health/00dietc.htm) Frugal living online: Tips - and links - to help you save (money. http://www1.kingston.net/(tilde)goju/leah/)

Aman of unrelenting will and iron logic, Mikhail Botvinnik (1911-1995) developed a system of preparation that helped him reign as world champion of chess for more than 13 years. Unflinchingly true to his task, Botvinnik played practice games with a radio blaring at full volume and an opponent blowing cigarette smoke into his face. His theoretical preparation also set a new standard. He meticulously studied and developed opening systems that confounded his opponents. He became a consummate practitioner of endgame play.

Rosellen Brown says she always knew she was going to be a writer and a mother. "I was kind of arrogant to assume," she says, "that because I wanted this thing to happen it would happen. But it did." Brown, 56, is the author of four novels, a collection of short stories and a book-length poem. Her most recent novel, "Before and After" (Farrar Straus Giroux, $21), has been made into a movie starring Meryl Streep and Liam Neeson that will be released in February. Her novels are characterized by sensitive investigations into complex family relationships and examinations of the responsibilities of the individual to society.

He cried uncontrollably that first afternoon. It was a Monday, the 11th of January, and as he drove alone from Allegheny General Hospital toward his home in a Pittsburgh suburb, Mario Lemieux cried so uncontrollably he struggled to see through his tears. The world's greatest hockey player, the sport's brightest star, could hide from his mortality no longer. He had just learned he had a form of Hodgkin's disease. He had just learned, more brutally, he had cancer. When his ride finally ended, when he finally arrived home 20 minutes later, his emotions still were roiling unchecked, and he went off by himself for another hour.

The news that, on average, American adults gain 7 to 10 pounds over the holiday period from Thanksgiving through New Year's Day is a bit unsettling. That statistic alone, reported by American Health magazine and Weight Watchers International, should be enough to shock us all into dietary compliance. Now for the good news. With some thought and planning, you can get through the holidays with health and weight intact. Diet and nutrition experts offer ideas on how to accomplish this.

Adam Marienau, 10, can`t even scratch his back when it itches because his muscles have been so weakened by muscular dystrophy. But he has a strong will- his mother, Carla, calls it inherited stubbornness-to succeed in school, computer math games and bowling. She believes that Adam's willpower helped him survive a serious bout this summer with pneumonia resulting in cardiac failure. "The doctors told us we witnessed a miracle," she said. That illness could not have come at a worse time for Adam, though, because he had won the opportunity in a contest to appear in Las Vegas on the nationally telecast Muscular Dystrophy Association Jerry Lewis Labor Day Telethon to raise funds to battle muscular dystrophy.

Dear Ann Landers: I have a problem that is ruining my life. I hesitate to tell anyone about it because I feel so foolish. Yet I know I cannot keep it to myself any longer or I will go crazy. I have this terrible need to do everything at least three times. If I don`t feel satisfied, I must do it six times or nine times. The number is escalating, and I fear I will soon be spending hours every day repeating ordinary tasks, such as closing doors, turning a light on or off, tying my shoe laces, etc. When I cook I count the number of times I stir the soup or mix the cake batter.

Dieting to lose weight takes tremendous willpower and determination. But the battle doesn`t end there: There's the problem of eating meals while at work. Often, there's simply nothing nuitritious-but-low-cal to order at a restaurant-and just as often, temptation is rampant. It's difficult to join friends for lunch or dinner or to attend business meetings without chowing down on delicious food that's filled with calories. And many employed women complain that their company cafeterias or snack shops are counterproductive to their diets.

Michael Pignotti did not begin Thursday's Great American Smokeout with that world-conquering "I-can-do-anything" attitude that's necessary for success. Instead, he was being a realist. "I`ll probably be smoking again by the weekend," sighed Pignotti. Although his cigarettes had been replaced by a sack of carrot and celery sticks and a jar of peanut butter on his desk at Humana Hospital in Hoffman Estates, his heart just wasn`t in it. It takes time to generate enough willpower to kick the nicotine habit, said the hospital's assistant executive director, who began the habit about 12 years ago. "They just came up to me with this on Tuesday.